The Power of Color

By Madame Lazonga

Have you ever wondered why certain environments make you feel very relaxed or very anxious and over stimulated? It is something we don’t consciously think about all the time but it can affect our moods and state of mind. I remember a few years ago I went junk hunting in this little town called Stillicum. The place I happened to go to was a thrift shop owned by the state to help subsidize the mentally impaired. It was definitely a different experience. On the second floor, everything was painted a light pea green. Even though half of the second floor was empty and the other half was a collection of relics that they rented out for Halloween, the place had a eerily calming affect. It made such a strong impression on me that I can still see the color and remember the feelings today. Looking back on my career, I remember at times I would use certain colors or combinations of colors for certain periods of time. Right now, I am attracted to green and earthy colors, but I find myself slowly growing into orange and peach. This makes me think of how important the history and impact of color is to tattooists as an artistic community.

Ancient civilizations have consciously used color for healing and evoking certain responses in their environments. A few of these cultures have powerful theories about color and how it relates to the power points on the body called chakra centers and the internal organs connected to these centers. These chakra centers have correspondences that represent certain emotions, feelings and, most importantly, to our discussion, color.

Every color has a wavelength and corresponding frequencies in millmicron cycles per second. Red is 400-470; orange is 470-520; yellow, 520-590; green, 590-650; blue, 650-700; and violet, 760-800. As you can see, violet is the color that vibrates the highest frequency. It is even more interesting, then, that in ancient cultures, not acquainted with our standards of light measurement, violet was a very rare and sought after color for fabric dying and painting. It was constantly sought after throughout most of the Middle Ages, simply because of its extreme rarity. With all this in mind, it is very important that we as artists utilize colors and combinations of colors to help us in our everyday life, whether it be tattooing or decorating our offices, apartments or simply picking out the right shirt. You will see how much different cultures identify with colors and it is important that we take that into account as we put color into skin.

THE COLORS

Let me begin with the color red. This color is the primal life force. In chakra theory it is positioned on the body is the groin area. The attributes associated with red are leadership, courage, strength, willpower and assertiveness. When it is out of balance, red can be pushy, selfish, compulsive, addicted to sex and alcohol. In many ancient cultures, red represented the gods of war and their corresponding planet Mars. In Chinese culture, red is their most sacred color and is worn in marriage ceremonies to bring good luck. In the Christian tradition it is worn by cardinals as vestments, but is also known as the color of hell and the devil.

The next color in the Chakra chart is orange. Orange is placed between the belly button and the groin area. This is the area of emotion, the moon, the gemstones carnelian and pearl. It is related to our excitement for life, connection to others, the source of our sensuality and self expression. It is socially stimulating. Orange is a good color to visualize and/or wear, or surround yourself with for trusting your instincts. People that have too much of this energy are prone to hyperactivity, overindulgence, obsessions with sex, over ambitiousness, dominance in a relationship, manipulativeness and emotional explosivity. The color blue is very complimentary to orange and helps to balance the energy. People that have too little orange are over sensitive, prone to feelings of guilt, prone to sexual blocks, distrustful, resentful, likely to have and imbalance of power in a relationship regarding sex, money or power. When you are in balance with orange, you are friendly, creative, intuitive, optimistic and connected to your feelings. Tibetan Buddhist monks and Hindu swamis have worn orange robes invoking energies of spontaneity, wisdom and intuition for thousands of years.

Yellow has always been such a happy color for me, but one of great frustration as far as getting it to stay vibrant under the skin. Usually, if I mix a little more white into it, it tends to stay brighter for longer. The yellow chakra is the located in the stomach area called the solar plexus and is known as the intellectual area. Yellow is associated with the sun, the element air, the gemstone topaz and its attributes deal with self-acceptance, the intellect, inner power and self-esteem. When one has too much yellow, they can be judgmental, a workaholic, demanding, sexually unfulfilled, a perfectionist and have an inflated ego. To balance out too much yellow, you can use violet, wear violet (purple), visualize violet or surround yourself with a little violet at work and/or at home. When you have too little yellow, you can be depressed, are afraid to be alone, look for other’s approval and are jealous and distrustful in love relationships. When in balance, you are outgoing, relaxed, expressive, respectful and happy. Just as the brides of China wear red for their marriage ceremonies, the brides of India wear yellow and gold. No wonder gold has been a symbol of the power of the sun in most cultures and used for sacred ornamentations by priests, kings and queens.

Next is green, located in the chest and is, as such, associated with the heart. It is part of the element of air, ruled by Venus, connected to wisdom and is represented in gemstones by the emerald. Green is the place of unconditional love and the place that holds grief and anger not dealt with. When you have too much green, you may be too possessive, sensitive, demanding or emotionally manipulative. Wearing a little red or pink or having a little red or pink in the environment can help to balance this out. When you have too little green in your life, you may be full of anger, grief, feel sorry for yourself, are paranoid, indecisive, feel untrustworthy of love and are frightened of rejection. Those in balance with green are empathetic, compassionate, nurturing, forgiving and in touch with their feelings. Green, being associated with things that grow from the earth, has always been thought of as regenerative, but like any color it has its negative aspect, which is associated with jealousy and envy. The Celts used green as regenerative in their mythology of the leprechaun who is quite mischievous and the keeper of treasures. The Druids believe green to be a color of learning. The Christians equate green with Christ’s cross and the Holy Grail. In Islam, the color green represents the prophet Muhammad. In China, green jade is one of their most revered stones thought to bring the best of good luck. I’ve been using more green in my tattooing lately, especially this one color called snot green (that’s the real name of it!). I love it. I can’t get enough of it and it especially goes in well with a little white ink. I have my morning ritual where I make up my concoction of herbal ingredients with yogurt and blend it together and put it in a large plastic green transparent glass. Somehow, the green color is reassuring and helps me feel healthy, alive and full of energy.

Blue is the next chakra center and is located in the throat area. It represents communication, the ether whose life lesson is speaking your truth. It is ruled by Jupiter and its gemstone is sapphire. Those that have too much blue may be self-righteous, talk before they think, talk too much, are arrogant and could be addictive. Of course, you can balance this out with a small amount of orange. If you have too little blue you might be timid, quiet, unreliable, inconsistent, likely to compromise too easily and unable to communicate effectively. When you have the right amount of blue energy, you are centered, have a good balance of listening with speaking and can express yourself truthfully. The color blue was used in primitive cultures to ward off the evil eye. In the Hindu culture, blue is venerated through one of its primary deities, Vishnu and Krishna. In ancient China, blue was used to depict malefic influences and blue eyes are thought of as bad luck and ugly. Christians represent the mother Mary as being clothed in blue. American Indians associate blue with the sky, the talking ancestors. I’ve become partial to using aqua in my tattooing sometimes as a replacement for blue. I like what it represents―a combination of blue and green.

The sixth center is called spirit, represented by violet (purple) and is at the convergence point where the reasoning mind meets the intuitive, the masculine and the feminine. It symbolizes letting go of distractions and attachments and being able to truly see people and situations for what they are. Its stone is amythyst and its herb and oil is lavender. The area of the sixth chakra center is between the eyebrows (the third eye) and base of the skull. A person that has too much violet may be authoritarian, manipulative, a religious fanatic or an egotist. People that have too little violet may be undisciplined, too sensitive, afraid of success and unable to see things objectively. People that have the right amount of violet are charismatic, connected to spirit, not attached to material things and unafraid to die. In ancient Rome, purple was worn by the emperor and was extremely hard to come by because of how it was made. The dye was made from a type of sea snail and it was forbidden for the average person to wear purple, being punishable by death. It wasn’t until about 1979 that purple ink came into being in the tattoo world. I was so thrilled to be able to start using purple in my work. I always think of that time as the real beginning of the tattoo renaissance.

The last color I want to talk about is white. Its element is cosmic energy, ruled by the moon and cancer. Its crystal is clear quartz, or diamond. This chakra is located at the top of the head and is associated with unity with the source, of spirit and being present. This is the area where the silver cord is detached from the body at the time of death. This is our connection to inspiration and our connectedness with all sentient beings. White is the most powerful color for getting rid of negativity. If a person has too much white, they may be easily frustrated, depressed and destructive. To offset this, you can add a little red along with the white or, if red is too harsh, you can use a little violet. A person who has too little white may be depressed, indecisive and have not spark of joy. A balanced person is open to the divine, is able to live in accordance with their spiritual beliefs and is not persuaded by negativity. White also has been associated with spirit and purity by the Christians, the traditional color of wedding dresses and symbolized leaving the old behind and moving into the new. The Chinese favor white for virginity, the old, autumn the West and purity. The Hindus associate white with self-illumination.

I hope you are inspired by this short description of colors and their place in the scheme of things from the ancient Indian culture of energy points in the body called chakra centers. I found it very interesting how much I could identify with each color and which areas I need to work with consciously everyday. I hope this will help to inform you as you go about your every day life and help formulate what your next tattoo will be or, for tattooists, what the visual affect will be when you process colors for your clients.

Since this is my first time writing for Skin and Ink, I think it will be fun to see where this entity goes. I encourage people to write to me with any questions they might have, not just about chakra centers but about this profession in general. I especially encourage women to write to me, considering we are a minority and you just don’t get a woman’s point of view too often.
Thank you for allowing me to be a little bit esoteric and in giving me this opportunity to share in this great website.

Your sister in tattooing,
Vyvyn
madamelazonga@hotmail.com

Note: A lot of my information was taken from The Elements of Color by Itten, Tony and Tina’s Color Energy, How Color Can transform Your Life by Cristina Bornstein and Anthony Gill and The Pocket Guide to Chakras by Joy Gardner-Gordon.